McIlroy plans American tour

Rory McIlroy will go round the world in 120 days before touching down at the Irish Open.

The Holywood star will play at least 10 events in the Middle East and the US before he tees it up in Europe for the first time at Baltray.

And the world No 39 confessed that the thought of making his Masters debut in April has kept him going over the winter break.

He said: "It was great to sit down over Christmas knowing that I am in the Masters. It is a great way to start the year.

“I'm practising harder than I ever have and I can't wait to get back into action next week."

McIlroy will debut in the Abu Championship and then play the Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic before concentrating on the build up to the Masters on the PGA Tour.

He said: “I’ll play the Accenture Matchplay in Arizona, the Honda Classic and the CA Championship in Doral, come home a few weeks and then play Shell Houston, the Masters and the Verizon Heritge.

"Hopefully I will be in the Players at Sawgrass as well and then I can come home for the Irish Open, which will be my first event in Europe.

"It's a big change from the middle of last summer, when I was 90th in the Order of Merit and wondering what way the season was going to go.

"The end of the year went fantastic for me and while I haven't won yet, I'm not worried. It's all about getting into position on the back nine on Sunday and the more I do that the more I will learn from that situation."

McIlroy joins PGA Tour - finally

Rory McIlroy confirmed in Hong Kong on Tuesday that he has joined the PGA Tour so he can become a major contender.

Rory McIlroy loves to be lovedThe 20-year-old Holywood starlet finally made up his mind after Sunday's brilliant closing 63 in the HSBC Champions proved that the bigger the stage, the better he plays.

Ending weeks of speculation about his plans, the world No 17 promised never to turn his back on Europe and insisted that he will copy Padraig Harrington by playing on both sides of the pond.

McIlroy said: “I can’t thank the European Tour enough but I am just in a privileged position where I play wherever I want, and besides I earned enough money in US Tour events to get my card so I have taken out membership.

There is no doubt, as Lawrence points out, that spending lengthy periods of time in the US means you simply don't get home to see your coach as often as you might like. Just look at Harrington's disastrous DIY swing tweak this year. Then there's the travel, as McIlroy's World Cup partner Graeme McDowell can attest after a nefarious PGA Tour foray cost him a Ryder Cup place at the K Club in 2006. McDowell's manager at the time was Chubby Chandler.

McIlroy revives his American dream

Rory McIlroy at Firestone Country Club on Wednesday. Picture by Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ieThere’s a new guessing game in golf - what’s Rory McIlroy going to do next. In June he surprised nearly everyone when he followed his implosion at the Masters with an eight-shot US Open win. Fast forward six weeks and he’s overshadowed the return to Tiger Woods to PGA Tour action this week by announcing that he’s seriously considering rejoining the PGA Tour next season.

McIlroy walks out: "I’m just not in a great place mentally”

The front page of today’s Irish Examiner sports supplement. Rory McIlroy walked off the course mid-round and straight into a major crisis of confidence after a stunning second round meltdown in the Honda Classic.